The Serpentine Documents
by FriendlyNeighborhoodWerewolf
Summary: Ancient Runes Professor Drake Doe has accidently found himself as the target of a major investigation as well as on a quest to discover the biggest secret of all time concerning one of Hogwarts founders. Based on Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.
1. Chapter 1

The telephone rang loudly besides the bed of one Professor Drake Doe, causing him to wake up. Grumbling in his native French he rolled over and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you at such a late hour sir, but there is a message for you," replied the weary concierge's voice on the other end.

"Who could want me at this hour? Did they leave a name?"

"No sir, but he says he desperately needs to speak with you."

Drake sighed. He was going to be lecturing on some documents he had found in a mere few hours so one could see why he was cranky. He needed every ounce of sleep he could get. "Listen, you tell them that unless I get a name and a valid reason, there will be no speaking with anyone." Drake hung up before the concierge could even protest.

7:30 AM

Drake Doe almost fell out of his bed at the sound of loud banging on his hotel room door. Cursing quietly in French he placed the picture of his family at his side and got up to answer it.

"Are you Drake Doe?"

"That's Professor Doe thank you."

"Sorry, Professor Doe," although he didn't sound all that apologetic. "I'm an Auror for the American government. I was told you had a meeting scheduled with Nicholas Flamel? Is that correct?"

Drake thought for a moment. A few weeks ago, Nicholas Flamel, the noted Alchemist, had contacted Drake to schedule a meeting of what he said was of upmost importance. He told Drake that he had heard of the documents he had found and said that he had some information. These documents known only to Wizarding historians as the Serpentine Documents were said to hold evidence that Hogwarts founder Salazar Slytherin's story had more to it than what was once thought. No one really knew all that much about what had happened to Slytherin after he left the school but according to a diary entry written down by Godric Gryffindor as Slytherin was leaving Gryffindor noted his rival saying something about how when the proper time comes, others will know the truth. Other parts of the text suggest that the founder of Slytherin house was heard muttering something about keeping something (the ink was smudged here) a secret because it would somehow stain his image. Where the diary had come from Drake would never know as it had been sent to him from an anonymous source. The note that came with it indicated in a very loopy scrawl that this was only the beginning and that the thing Drake was looking for could be found at the center of the city of Alexander, directly under the eye of Ra, the Egyptian sun god. So at twelve noon on his third day in the city of Alexandria in Egypt Drake looked down at the thick scrolls that he had recovered with a triumphant look on his face. They were in fact now at Gringotts where no one else could get to them. He had made copies of them to carry around with him, which were in his briefcase under the bed and had spent several weeks trying to decipher them but even with his expert skills his efforts were useless.

_Home,_ Drake thought, wishing that he was now there instead of here. The Auror's coughing brought Drake back to the present. "Oh um, yes Mr. Flamel and I were scheduled to meet right after my lecture in," he checked his watch, " two hours."

"Well then Professor Doe sir I'm sure you will be sorry to hear that Mr. Flamel died last night. But he left behind this message that said it ought to be delivered to you."

"The Aurors were called in to deliver a letter to me? I mean I am sorry he's dead but is this really necessary?"

In reality Drake was shocked to hear that the man had died, having not known that the Philosopher's Stone had been destroyed. He never paid much attention to the news anymore. He had however read much of Flamel's work and to hear that he was gone was heartbreaking. But prior to becoming a Professor Drake had spent several years as an Auror which taught him to keep his emotions to himself.

Faulkner the Aurur stared at the man before him. He was acting a bit to calm in his opinion. It just seemed that it was too much of a coincidence that this man just happened to be meeting with Flamel right when dies and yet he doesn't seem to show any sort of emotion upon hearing the news. And what was the deal with this letter? The two men stared at each other for a few moments in silence. The esteemed Professor Doe had long black hair which was swept back in a ponytail, pale skin, a height of about 6'2, and a strong muscular build. His French accent gave him away immediately. Faulkner on the other hand was of a shorter dumpier build, with short brown hair, and brown eyes.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to come with me. The Head Auror has actually requseted your presence at the scene. Apparently there was something there that requires your expertise as well." The Auror stopped Drake before he could protest. "You'll be back in time for your lecture Professor don't worry." And he ushered Drake out the door, glancing around before closing it and following the man out of the building.

'Great.' This is not how Drake wanted to spend his morning. It turned out that Mr. Nicholas Flamel had purchased a vacation house in upper New York (Sylvan Beach to be exact), which he told Drake during their first conversation that was for "reflection purposes only." It was a quaint little house off the beaten path. Drake stifled a yawn as the Auror let him through the front door and through a small entry way, down the hall, and into what was obviously Flamel's bedroom. Standing in the middle of the room was a man of about Drake's size and build with Hazel eyes and greying hair who came and immediatly shook Drake's hand.

"Good morning Professor Doe. My name is John Hilderson, I'm wanting to speak to you about something that we found. We thought you might be able to help us.

Hilderson produced some pieces of parchment that had been placed in an evidence bag.

"Thsee were found in the deceased's hands by the woman who was his neighbor. Apparently she'd come to borrow a few cups of sugar when she found the door unlocked which isn't uncommon in these parts from what I hear." He handed the papers to Drake who immediatly began studying them.

"I am afraid that it is going to take me more than a few hours to even attempt to decipher these. If I can just have a few days or so I will see what I can find and report back to you."

"That sounds fair," replied Hilderson. "Thank you for your time Professor."

Which Drake's services no longer needed, he decided to go ahead and leave straight to his lecture. Back in Nicholas Flamel's bedroom the two Aurors stood there and looked at each other. "I want a team of Aurors down there at that Lecture," said Hilderson to Faulkner after the Professor had been shown out.

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with either Dan Brown or J.K Rowling, both of which are absolutely fabulous authors.

Drake sat on the bed in his hotel room, a small piece of parchment in his hand. It was interesting because the message wasn't written even in English. Shaking his head, Drake picked up the phone and placed a call.

One mile away the man called James ran a hand through his almost shoulder length blond hair as he scanned the lobby of the hotel he was currently taking up residence. The Dark Mark on his left arm covered by a long sleeved, black, buttoned up shirt.

_The Dark Lord has been good to me._

His blue eyes continued to look around the hotel lobby which was empty except for the late night personnel behind the desk. Quietly, he stepped into the elevator and up to his room. He entered and closed the door behind him.

It wasn't a bad room-nice carpet, double bed, dresser, television, and phone. James would be here a week.

_The Dark Lord always provides._

Tonight at least, James felt as if he had a true purpose. Of course everyone's life served some sort of purpose but this, this was something far greater then any ordinary witch or wizard could ever imagine. Placing his coat and gloves on the bed he went over to the night stand and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" The voice was female.

"Mistress. I have returned."

"Then tell me what I need to know." The woman's voice sounded pleased to hear him.

"He is dead, along with all the other bretheren."

After a few minutes pause the woman spoke again. "I assume that you were able to get the information needed then?"

"All four of them confessed independently. Flamel was already on his death bed, but I guess even a dying man will do anything when a wand is pointed at htem."

"And you believed all four of them?"

"Ma'am their agreement was to great for just plain coincidence."

There was an excited breath. "Very good. I feared that their reputation for keeping secrets would prevail, but I guess death can be a strong motivation." There was a light chuckle here. "Tell me what I must know."

James knew that the information he had gathered from his victims would come as a complete shock. "All four of them confirmed the existence of the Stone Tablet..the legendary Stone Tablet."

The person on the other end of the line had a quick intake of breath and James could hear their excitement. "Exactly as I suspected."

According t the legend, the Brotherhood of the Blood as they were so called, created a secret map that lead to the location of their greatest secret. A map made of stone.

"When we get possession of the Stone Tablet we will only be one more step away. The Dark Lord will be extremely pleased."

James allowed himself a grin. "It's closer then you think. The Stone Tablet is right here in New York."

"Oh my! That makes it almost to easy."

James related all the information to his contact on the other end of the line...how all of the bretheren, before death, had given full confessions. Each of them telling James that the Stone Tablet was buried under the alter of St. Mark's Church in Malone, New York. After hanging up he smirked before dissapperating. He had business to attend to.

James stood in front of St. Mark's church for a moment. _Interesting place really. No one would ever think to look here, _he thought as he made his way inside. There was no one there except for someone who appeared to be the pastor.

"Can I help you?"

"Oh, hello." Said James with a smile, "I had heard about this place from a friend who is from here and I thought I would come and see it."

The pastor smiled. "That's fine, feel free to look around then. I was just preparing for the next sermon." James merely nodded and the other man left the sanctuary. Something about this man didn't sit well with him.

Lucius Malfoy tapped his fingers on the arm of the huge chair he was sitting in next to his fireplace. Today's events had gone as planned. His informant had contacted him only a short tiem ago to bring him news from James. The former Auror turned Professor was now the target, leaving James to slip in and get what was needed. Malfoy knew that if he ever got possession of these docuemtns it would place him high within Lord Voldemort's ranks when he returned. At that point he flipped over the diary in his hands.

Drake read the letter again to make sure that he had written it right. The language that it had been written in was strange at first but it happened to be one that Drake recognized and he kicked himself for not seeing it sooner. I didn't get the proper amount of time to really read it before the lecture started but now...

_Professor Doe,_

_Do not react to this letter as you never know who might be watching. You are in danger. The information you found in Egypt and what I have given you are only the first two pieces of the puzzle. I trust you. _

_-N.F_

Drake began to sweat as he jerked around looking for an idea on how to get out. He immediatly shrank all of his stuff and put it in his coat pockets. After a few minutes of nothing he dissapperated. Right after he did so the Aurors busted down the door.

"Damn it!" Hilderson roared.

"Can we track him sir?" Asked Faulkner who had come in right behind his bos.

"No. Tracking only spells must be placed on the subject before they apperate which is obviously what Doe did as the muggle personnel down at the desk said they never saw him leave or come in after his lecture for that matter." Hilderson narrowed his eyes as he looked around the room. "I've never lost a case around here yet and I'm not about to lose this one. I want everyone back at the office working on this one, even if they have other cases."

" Yes sir." Faulkner turned around and walked out. A few minutes later, Hilderson followed him.


	3. Chapter 3

St. Mark's Church in Malone, New York. James really didn't know all that much about it except for the fact that it was buit in 1799 and that it was Episcopalian. According to the Bretheren, the Stone Tablet contained amap that would lead directly to their most famous and well kept secret. Eagerly he looked around for something that would break the floor closest to the alter. Finally he grabed one of those poles that are used to link viewing railings and rammed the floor with it.

Up in the balcony the pastor looked down at what the stranger was doing with deep sadness and shock. This meant that something bad had happened. He had called upon all the people that he was supposed to call upon and now all he could do was watch.

Meanwhile...

Down near the alter James let out an unhumanlike roar as he tore up the parchment that read "Dead End" on it. Seething, James went storming through the church until he found the pastor who had made it to his office. James slammed him up against the wall and jammed his wand into the guy's throat.

"WHERE IS IT!"

"Sir I have no idea.."

"Yes you do now tell me now!"

The pastor didn't say a word. In fact he looked rather calm. He had to protect the secret of the Brotherhood.

"I will not tell you the location of what you seek sir, for it is not yours to possess."

James suddenly waved his wand. A flash of light and the man was dead in an instant. James stared down at the lifeless form before dissapperating.

----------

Ancient Runes Professor Drake Doe was petrified. He was afraid that if the Aurors here thought that he was a danger, they might let the muggle authorities know. He stepped out of the alleyway where he'd appeared and hailed a cab to the nearest airport.

----------

There was no sign of the director in the building. Hilderson's team had searched every inch of the place. One of the other Aurors was on her way out of the room when he stopped her. "I need someone to notfy the muggle authorities. We gotta bring Doe in as soon as possible." The female Auror nodded and left. Hilderson stood there and rubbed his hands together.

----------

Lucius was infuriated. The news he had recieved from James was still burning in his mind. The information from James had been most displeasing.

"Lucius dear aren't you ready yet? We've got to leave soon if we're to going to get to Diagon Alley before the crowds."

Malfoy merely grunted in response and finished straightening his outfit before pocketing the little book, grabbing his cane and leaving.

Diagon Alley was at this time of year, always packed with parents buying school supplies for their little snot nose brats who would never amount to anything anyway. The incredibly unpleasant yet surprisingly fortunate encounter with the blood traitor Weasleys saw the first part of the plan being set into the motion. When they were finished he only had a short amount of time before he had to get to the meeting with the others.

----------

By now Drake Doe was sure, or at least thought he was sure, that the muggle authorities knew who he was and what he looked like. Hilderson didn't look like the kind that ought to be messed with, just misguided.

_But why are they after me? Surely there must be a reason._

Drake had been able to make his way to the muggle airport where he bought a last minute ticket (with a few quick and subtle manipulations) onto British Airways to England with a recently acquired muggle credit card (he figured that if he used a muggle credit card the police would trace it, thinking that he was going to England when he really wasn't). As he sat back in the cab he looked again at the parchment that Flamel had given him. It was in some weird code, an anagram possibly or maybe an entirely different language. Drake needed to figure it out somehow. He opened his briefcase and pulled out the other parchment that he had brought with him. He then looked back at what Flamel had given him. Here is what it said:

_The White Bumble Bee is loyal to his hive. In Scotland he reigns in a castle built by four unlikely animals over a thousand years ago and it is he who holds the key._

Whoever or whatever this White Bumble Bee was, was obviously in a castle somewhere in Scotland. "Four animals?" He thought aloud. Never mind that, first he had to go home and pick up something special and then he had to make his way to Scotland.

"Pull over here," he told the cab driver and paid him before getting out and finding a safe place. He had a long way to apperate.

----------

"We got a lead on our professor boss." Faulkner entered through the office door an handed Hilderson the papers.

"Good, contact the British Aurors and tell them it would be a good idea to get on that airplane and make sure Doe doesn't escape."

"Yes sir."Faulkner went to do just that.

----------

"There is absolutely no other way to put it. If word gets out before HE returns then we might as well just Avada Kedavra ourselves and be done."

Malfoy thought about this for a moment. Snape had a point.

"I have a contanct who has been helping myself and James track down those documents."

"Oh really? And does this contact have a name?"

"No but they have key information."

"Sounds like you're just making things up to me Malfoy." Mulciber commented. Malfoy immediatly stood up and pointed his wand at the other man. "Never say that about me."

Avery and Snape both stood up right as Mulciber stood up and pointed his own wand at Malfoy. At the other two's standing Malfoy slowly put his wand away but didn't keep his eye off Mulciber as he sat down. When it was over, Malfoy got up and left the area.


	4. Chapter 4

Drake rushed up the steps to his front door and it opened as soon as he reached it. Immediatly he noticed a copy of the Prophet on the table.

_I wonder how fast news travels in the Wizarding world? _

Drake looked around the house to find that no one was there. Next to the news paper there was a letter addressed to Drake. The young Ancient Runes professor figured that Javier must have brought it Adrianna, thinking that she might foward it to him. Drake was no fool, he knew that it was hard to get mail by owl across the Atlantic. He opened the letter and read it quickly. It was about the lecture that he was going to make in Florence, Italy next month.

"Those old professors. They can't remember that this event doesn't take place until next month?" Shaking his head he pocketed the letter and left a note to his wife and kids.

_To my family, _

_Just leaving you all a little note to tell you that I made it home safe. I came home early because I recieved a note saying my experience was needed here. Please don't worry about me and if anyone comes by asking about me, tell them I haven't come home yet. I'll explain the next time I see you. _

_Drake_

He left the note on the table where someone could find it (but only the people he wanted to find it), grabbed the book he needed and left.

-----------

Hilderson cursed out loud after they found the plane empty and no sign of Professor Doe at the airport or surrounding area. All the muggles had to have their memories modified and if it were not for his detmermination (and large ego) he would have given up. He must have gotten away by some other means of transport.

"Faulkner! Pack your bags. We're going to Europe."

----------

Drake sat at a table in a dark corner of the Hog's Head with the book he had chosen. He was trying to figure out about this White Bumble Bee. It wasn't in any of the books he had read on magical beasts and it definitly wasn't anything normal. It must mean something else then. The book Drake had in his hands was a dictionary of sorts. A latin dictionary, and it was the first book that had come into Drake's mind.

"So it's Latin."

When Drake had decided to come to his house he was thinking of the only way he knew how to solve a problem: books. Books were Drake's best friend and he had a pretty good collection of them. He was just lucky that he had to search for the book he wanted for to long. He got up and left the pub.

Not long after Drake left, four men (two American, and two British) came into the bar and showed a photograph of someone to the bar man.

"No sir. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing anyone by that description."

"Damn it," Hilderson cursed. As soon as he and Faulkner had arrived their British counterparts had been contacted and an agreement had been reached. As soon as Doe was captured and found guilty, he was to be brought before America's own highest Wizarding court but the credit for the capture (at least part of it) would go to the British. After a few more questions the four Aurors left the pub. It could have been Faulkner's imagination, but he could have sworm the bar man had some sort of gleam in his eye when he bid them goodbye.

----------

There had been no contact from the Mistress. She said not to contact her, that she would contact them. For a brief moment James wondered if someone had got to them. Hopefully that was not the case. There had been no word from Malfoy either but that was to be expected. He was still a Death Eater after all and had taught James much since becoming his mentor.

_There is no good and evil James. There is only power._

It didn't take long for James to grasp this concept. Anyone who did not believe this was nothing more then a weakling. Lucius had been a friend of his parents and had sort of taken him in after their deaths. He helped him find Lord Voldemort. He showed him how things could get taken care of more easily. Money of course was a huge and important factor. James's parents were rich, leaving their son with a large sum of money. Making donations to all the right people got you in the right circles. James was good at this of course. Very good. Unfortunatly these types of things were not going to help him in this case. He was at a complete dead. The Mistress didn't take the news lightly but said it was to be expected. She also said it was best to wait for her to contact him again before doing anything else. He could wait patiently if he had to.

----------

Drake couldn't help but feel his skin give a bit of a tingle as he made his way to Hogwarts Castle. The Hogs Shead pup was right there the entire time! He was so close and didn't even know it!

_Well I'm here now._

AS soon as Drake left the pub he had sent a message to the Headmaster who had graciously accepted. Maybe he would have more information.

----------

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore looked down at the letter he had just recieved. Nicholas must have passed then. Sighing he wrote a reply and sent it off before steepling his fingers together


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: All rights to The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter belong to Dan Brown and J.K Rowling.**

Drake nervously ran his hand across the back of his neck as Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stared at the documents that were now placed before him on his desk. To be sitting in front of one of the wizarding world's most prominent figures, not to mention the only person He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named might have ever been afraid of, was enough to make Drake want to sit up a little straighter. Dumbledore, on the other hand, did not seem to be paying him any attention as he peered down at the papers before him.

"You were supposed to have a meeting with Nicholas about these?"  
"Yes," Drake replied. "He wanted to have a meeting with me to discuss them. I was hoping that he might be able to shed some light on how to translate them."

Silence set in again as Dumbledore steepled his fingers together and stared, seemingly at nothing in particular for what felt like an eternity before finally speaking again.

"If those American wizards had any sort of clue as to who Nicholas actually was and why he actually died, they would not be after you now."

"Flamel was the only known maker of the Sorcerer's Stone. The only way he could have passed would be if the stone was destroyed…"

"Precisely, but I believe that is a story for another conversation," Dumbledore interrupted before Drake could finish and in the process he gave him a glance that made his message clear before continuing. "Unfortunately, I don't think I can help you. Slytherin had a very unusual way of writing that made it hard to allow others to understand. I do, however, have a very dear friend who is sort of an expert on the Hogwarts founders, particularly Salazar Slytherin."

As the Headmaster was talking he summoned a piece of parchment and a quill and began to write down his friend's address.

"I strongly suggest that you go and meet up with her. I am sure that she will be more than delighted to help you in this particular quest. I will make sure that she knows of your arrival ahead of time."

"Sir, the American authorities seem to believe that I might be involved in something. You don't think that they think that I…." But Dumbledore cut in before Drake could finish.

"Honestly, Professor Doe you have quite an incredible record and I am sure that you know that at least some parts of your back story may seem less than credible to others even though they are completely true. I am sure that there some out there who would love to see you ousted, but at the same time there may be someone out there who is trying to gather the information for themselves for purposes less than pleasant. I suggest that the best thing for you to do is to try to get to it before they do." Dumbledore slid the piece of parchment across his desk to Drake with what looked like a knowing look. Drake thanked the headmaster before heading out.

Hilderson made his way out of yet another store. He and the other aurors had been busy going from place to place giving out Doe's description in the hopes that anyone had seen him around when suddenly he heard a loud _crack!_ When he turned instinctively to see where the sound had come from, he found himself staring directly at the suspect himself who immediately took off running, Hilderson right behind him screaming for backup. His partner Faulkner had heard the screaming along with several of the British aurors they had been working with. He knew that he would not manage to get to the suspect in time, but he did manage to hit him with a tracking spell right before he disappeared.

Lucius Malfoy sat unusually still in his chair behind is desk in the middle of his study. It was his own private space in which no one but himself was allowed in. Not even his wife or only son was allowed in here. It had been awhile since he had heard of anything new and he was starting to get a little worried.

_James should have been able to get a hold of the stone tablet by now. Why hasn't the Mistress contacted me? _

As Malfoy sat in his chair he began to absentmindedly fiddle with the top of the cane he always used to carry around. He reminded himself that he would have to punish Dobby, his house elf for not keeping it properly polished. In fact, he noticed that the worthless piece of vermin had been neglecting to do a lot o f his tasks lately which resulted in an increasing amount of punishments. Something would definitely have to be done.

He then turned his attention to the opened letter that had been sitting on his desk the entire time. His son, Draco, had been keeping him informed about all of the happenings at Hogwarts. Students were being literally petrified by an unseen force; mysterious writings were beginning to show up on the castle walls. Malfoy allowed himself a smirk. It looked as if the plan for the Dark Lord's imminent return was going quite well and Malfoy hoped that by the acquisition of the Serpentine Documents, he would easily be able to right back into the inner circle. Maybe the Dark Lord would even make him his right hand man. The only thing he could do was waiting.

James silently cursed to himself as he snuck off into the night. He had been deceived! All four of the brothers had lied to him, choosing death rather than revealing the truth. He did not have the strength to call and inform the Mistress. He had killed the only four people who knew the exact location of the stone tablet. The killing of the pastor meant nothing and he had used his wand to repair any damage he had made to the floor inside the church's sanctuary so there would definitely not be any evidence that someone had been in there.

_It served him right,_ thought James. _He was probably nothing but a mudblood anyway._

Taking a deep breath, James looked around to make sure that no one would be there to see him apperate before disappearing with a feint _pop_.

**[Author's Note: I don't know what made me want to come back and revisit this story, but I have decided that I should come back and try to finish it. I have also decided that I should probably go back and make some *ahem* minor adjustments to previous chapters just so I feel like they look better. Also, reviews are strongly encouraged so please tell me what you think (constructive criticism only please).]**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS TO HARRY POTTER AND THE DA VINCI CODE BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.**

Serpentina Smith lived in what was probably one of the smallest places Drake had ever seen. He could tell that the house itself along with the land around it had undergone some very recent restorations and that whoever was doing them was still in the process of cleaning things up. He realized that the piece of paper Dumbledore had given him was actually a port key, which was good for Drake because he never enjoyed apperating blindly. As soon as he landed on the front steps the door opened to reveal a young woman, probably in her late 20's peaking out at him from the other side. She had straight black hair that was braided into dreadlocks. As far as height went she came up to just under Drake's nose (Drake was 6'2) with extremely pale skin.

"Dumbledore sent a message on a head so I would know to expect you," the young woman standing in front of him informed him as she peaked around outside as if to make sure the coast was clear before motioning him to come in. He noticed she had a very thick accent that was definitely American.

"Professor Drake Doe. My specialty is Ancient Runes," Drake said by way of introduction.

"Serpentina Smith, historian."

Drake then followed her into the small kitchen area where she sat down and motioned for him to do the same. Wordlessly, she summoned two Coca cola cans from the fridge and pushed one towards him while she took the other and opened it.

"Your accent tells me you are from America. What is it about OUR magical history that interests you so much?"

"When I was studying in school I was lucky enough to spend quite some time studying history abroad. That was when I first became attracted to the story of the Serpentine Documents. Suddenly, I found myself absolutely obsessed. I mean, Salazar Slytherin has always been considered the most….controversial out of all four of the Hogwarts founders, wouldn't you say? I mean, to uncover his true history would be one of THE greatest finds of all time, wouldn't it?"

Drake of course, couldn't help but agree with her. In fact, he was currently in the process of finishing the final draft of a book that he was writing which was dedicated to the subject at hand. He watched as Serpentina disappeared for only a brief minute before returning with a very large, thick, book and placed it on the table in front of him.

"This house you are now standing in belonged to the Gaunt family originally. They were the last known living descendents of Salazar Slytherin. When I first moved in here I found this," she pointed to the book, "under a loose floorboard in one of the rooms. I think you will find what it contains to be quite interesting."

Drake eyed the historian with a peculiar look before turning his attention to the book. He gently turned the page only to be shocked to see what was written inside. It was a list of _names_. It had long been speculated that there were certain, very prominent, wizards associated with the Brotherhood of the Blood but for Drake to see some of these names confirmed was absolutely astonishing.

"This book gives a list of all of the names that have ever been in the brotherhood's highest of ranks, including Grand Master. Including…"

"Nicholas Flamel," Drake finished for her quietly as he stared at the man's name. "He wanted to meet with me about something the other day but unfortunately he died before he could tell me what he wanted to tell me. I only suspected he was interested in my work and wanted to chat over drinks."

"May I see the documents, please?" Serpentina asked. Drake summoned his briefcase where he kept them. He had managed to shrink it down and place it one of his pockets. As soon as he could he opened it and placed all of the papers out on the table.

"These are not the originals, but copies that I carry around with me."

"Workaholic?"

"Possibly."

"Where and how exactly did you find these?"

Drake suddenly felt uncomfortable. He really wasn't sure as to whether or not he should tell her absolutely everything.

"I guess you could say that someone gave me a push in the right direction. I found them in Alexandria over in Egypt."

"Professor I am wondering. How much do you know exactly about the Brotherhood of the Blood?"

Drake found himself reverting back into some very deep thought as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. He remained silent as he recalled everything that he had learned through his research as well as trying to remember some of the theories that had managed to come up with on his own.

"Salazar Slytherin was very...selective when it came to choosing the students that would belong in his house. He admired those who were extremely ambitious, cunning, and of course, pure blood. There is one theory that says he created the brotherhood himself to make sure that any Hogwarts student of pure blood would be held above all of the others and that the documents were created as a sort of..set of commandments for members of the brotherhood to follow but other theories suggest otherwise."

As he spoke, Drake noticed that Serpentina continued to eye the documents in front of her as if she was trying to stare right through them.

"I have done a lot of research on Slytherin over the years as well as the Brotherhood of the Blood and it has leaded me to believe that the brotherhood was created with more than just students in mind."

Ah that, Drake thought. There was also another theory suggesting that maybe Salazar Slytherin's bloodline was not as pure as he would have liked everyone to believe it had been. That maybe there might have been a little bit of muggle blood thrown in there somewhere and he was trying to hide it.

"Look, we both know that Gryffindor wrote in his diary later that he heard Slytherin mumbling something about protecting his image before it was stained as he was leaving. What else could stain his image more than that? The thing is we won't know until those documents are translated."

"That's true," Drake replied. "Normally that would be my specialty but unfortunately this is in a language that I have never come across. I can't make heads or tails of it!"

Suddenly there was a very loud crashing sound as the front door to Serpentina's house went flying off of its hinges. Drake just managed to summon everything before Serpentina grabbed him by the wrist and they both ran out the back door, both of them ducking and dodging the hexes that were flying.

"Dumbledore did mention that you might have gotten yourself into a spot of trouble with the authorities!" Serpentina yelled.

"They must have somehow managed to place a tracking spell on me right before I apperated here. I did manage to run into some of them on the way."

Thinking quickly, Serpentina pointed her wand at Drake before shouting, "Finite Incantatum!" And apperating them both out of there.

Hilderson cursed. He was just about to nail his man when the girl that he was with ended the spell before apperating them both out of sight. Now how was he supposed to catch them?

**[Author's Note: Chapter 6 is finally finished! I am encouraging everyone who takes the time to read this to please leave me a review and tell me what you think!]**


	7. Chapter 7

**[Disclaimer: All rights to The Da Vinci Code and Harry Potter belong to their respective owners.]**

James looked out of the window of the hotel he had booked himself into for the night. The phone call he had just received told him the exact location that he needed to be in, in order for him to finally be able to accomplish his task. The whole thing about the Stone Tablet had been a failure and James was determined not to repeat that mistake again. He quickly made his way down to the lobby, pulling the hood of his cloak up over his head to shield himself from the slight chill that had suddenly sprung up out of nowhere and mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do.

Drake looked around at the room he had just been apperated into. It looked like he was in some sort of storage closet or at least that is what he felt like seeing as how the space was so small. He was sitting in front of a really small table in an equally small table with no room to spare. Serpentina had managed to squeeze herself on the other side, the documents spread out on the table between them. He noticed her twitching for just a minute before she seemed to settle back down. Trying to cover up her nerves he guessed.

"Nicholas Flamel's death was a flimsy excuse to use in order to send someone after you like this. It is obvious that someone wants these documents very badly."

"Do you think it might be the Brotherhood?" Drake asked, still trying to calm his own nerves. He was still trying to process everything that had been going on.

"It is the job of the Brotherhood of the Blood to protect the secret of Salazar Slytherin. I don't think they would kill their own like this."

"Do you think they might have been compromised?"

"It would seem so," Serpentina replied. She was currently going over the documents with a magnifying glass and examining them from every angle. For several minutes the pair of them sat in a very intense silence, the only sound that could be heard was the occasional humming sound coming from Serpentina. Finally, Drake had a thought and decided that he should voice it out loud.

"I do know that Salazar Slytherin spoke parseltongue. Do you think that he might have known how to write it as well?"

"IF he did, it is a great possibility that he and the brethren could have used it as some sort of code to communicate with so that others could not understand. I would even go as far as to say that it would be an absolutely brilliant idea. If we can crack this it might even shed some light on certain other legends as well," Serpentina was growing even more excited now.

"How many legends are we talking about exactly?" Drake asked, confused. Serpentina raised an eyebrow at him as she summoned a small pouch and began rummaging around in it.

"I managed to snag one of my books right before we were forced to exit the house while you weren't looking." She pulled said book out and pointed her wand at it, forcing it to open to a certain page. As Drake peered down at the moving illustrations he couldn't help but notice the picture of what looked like some sort of underground chamber.

"Legend has it that before Salazar Slytherin left Hogwarts for good he had a secret chamber built deep within the school. The chamber is said to hold a monster that only Slytherin's true heir could control. He had it built so that whenever his true heir came along, the horrors within the chamber could be unleashed in order to purge the school of those that were not of pureblood. They call it the Chamber of Secrets. Of course the castle has been searched for such a chamber thousands of times but they haven't found it, _yet_."

Drake could not help but to find himself cringing just a little bit at the last part of that sentence. Who would go to such extremes in order to possibly make up for something that shouldn't really matter in the first place? He suddenly remembered some of the things he had read about WWII. He thought he remembered reading somewhere that Adolf Hitler had some Jewish blood in him but was so ashamed of it, it became part of the reason he ordered the mass murder of six million Jewish people during the Holocaust.

"What exactly is said to be inside this chamber?" Drake asked, although he was sure he really didn't want to know.

"The chamber is said to be the home of a monster," Serpentina replied simply.

James crept up to the tiny shack that the two were currently hiding in. He had just received a phone call from the Mistress telling him where there exact location would be. When he asked her how she managed to know that the only answer he got was the click on the other end of the phone line as she hung up. He would not fail in his mission this time.

Lucius Malfoy smiled as he put the letter into the fire and watched it burn. He had just received notification that James was closing in on the target and that it shouldn't be too long before the documents were in the proper hands.


	8. Chapter 8

Drake sighed in frustration and rubbed his face in his hands. He had just tried performing a translation spell on the Serpentine Documents to no avail.

"You're supposed to be the big Slytherin expert. Can't YOU translate this?" He asked Serpentina.

"Only someone who is directly descended from Slytherin himself has the ability to speak the language. I remember meticulously tracing Salazar Slytherin's family line. Unfortunately, his last living descendants, the Gaunt family, are all gone. "

"And you know for a fact that there are no others?"

"Not as far as I know," Serpentina replied as she pulled out a small book from her pocket. Drake could tell it had been flipped through many times and many of the pages were stuck in there loosely. Serpentina looked through the pages until she found what she was apparently looking for.

"What exactly do you know this - Gaunt family?" Drake asked curiously.

"Well, besides the fact that they were the last descendents of Slytherin not very much. I do know that the family fortune was squandered ages ago. It was only Marvolo Gaunt and his two children. His son, Morfin, went to Azkaban but his daughter Merope," she paused, "Merope disappeared and was never seen again."

"She disappeared? Is there any indication as to what might have happened to her? Do you think it might have been foul play?"

Serpentina did not say anything for an extremely long time so when she did finally say something it actually made Drake jump.

"The Gaunts were not of the highest standard but they were pureblooded descendants of Slytherin. If they were anything I am safely assuming they were, Merope would have had to do something extremely bad in order to all of a sudden disappear from the picture."

"You are thinking that maybe she might have betrayed the family somehow."

"Yep and for some reason I feel like our best lead is going to be through her somehow. We just have to figure out what on earth happened to her first."

Drake sighed. "It's going to be a long night."


	9. Chapter 9

Parseltongue, the language of snakes. According to Serpentina the Gaunts were fluent in it enough that they were able to have full conversations in it with each other without even having to have the presence of a snake around.

"The so-called discovery of the language was actually given to a wizard that went by the name of Paracelsus, the noted alchemist and supposed "medical genius" and that is who the language is named after. However, Herpo the Foul and Salazar Slytherin were alive much earlier than that if I remember correctly."

Drake listened to Serpentina's lesson in history with some interest. Drake had always had a fascination with learning new things and he often paid the price for it by getting bullied by other students at school. That was when he found the Invisibility section of the library the most useful as he could hide out there and it made it much harder for the people trying to beat him up to find him (at least for a short while at any rate).

"To the person that was overhearing it, it would just sound like a series of hissing noises. Tell me, have you ever heard anyone actually speak the language?" Serpentina sat back in her chair and opened and closed her hands a few times and shook her head a bit before leaning forward again.

"No I am afraid that I have not which is what amazes me about seeing all of this," Drake replied gesturing to the papers in front of him. "How would Slytherin managed to write such a language down is beyond me."

The two wizards barely managed to avoid bumping heads as they both peered down at the supposed words before them. Serpentina's fingers were twitching and Drake found himself wondering if maybe she had more than a few nervous ticks as he had noticed that she had been prone to do that with several parts of her body, sometimes for several moments before seeming to gain control of herself. After several minutes of silence Serpentina spoke.

"Did you….when you found the original documents, did you ever notice anything strange about them?"

"I noticed I kept getting a somewhat funny feeling when I first picked them up, as if I was not the one that was supposed to be holding them. I felt hated," Drake responded not exactly sure where she was going with this.

"I'm going to need to see the original documents."

"But I don't…"

"The original documents, where do you keep them?"

Drake sighed in defeat. "Come on then, we will go and retrieve them from my vault." He grabbed her arm, gathered all of the papers with a simple summoning charm, and apperated the two of them to where they needed to be.

James, who had been close by listening in on the conversation the entire time, suddenly had a plan in mind. He laughed as he realized how happy the authorities were going to be with the big, anonymous tip that they were about to get and allowed himself an evil looking smirk before he too disappeared with a crack.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: It occurred to me that I forgot to place the necessary disclaimer at the beginning of the last chapter. All things Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code belong to J.K Rowling and Dan Brown. The only thing that belongs to me are the original characters.**

The vaults underneath Gringotts in Diagon Alley were definitely something to behold. This vast underground labyrinth stretched on for miles and miles and Drake wondered idly, as he so often did, how could something this big be right under the muggles' noses and they never noticed it. He and Serpentina kept their eyes peeled for anything that out of the ordinary that might indicate that they needed to make a quick escape. As Drake stood and waited for an available goblin he tried not to fidget, Serpentina nudged him with her elbow and looked at him sideways with a pointed look. He had really wanted to send some sort of message to his wife and kids back home but he and Serpentina both agreed that any messages that were sent might be intercepted and traced and there was just no way that he would have that. He wondered if they had been questioned by the authorities yet. He was such a reverie that Serpetina had to nudge him again in order to get him to move towards the now impatient goblin that was standing before them and waiting for someone to give up the necessary information. After giving all of the information that was needed, including the vault number, another goblin led them to the mining cart that would take them to Drake's vault where the original Serpentine Documents were currently being kept. Serpentina looked around in wonder at all of the items.

"You certainly have a great deal of artifacts in here," she commented as she leaned down to inspect one of the objects more closely.

"Yes, this is where I keep all of my more…collectible items. There is a separate family vault for…well you know."

"hmmm.."

Drake found what he was looking for and very gently picked up the protective case that the documents were being kept in and cast a shrinking charm on it with his wand so that it could be easily hidden and exited the vault so they could get back above ground (Drake never really considered himself to be claustrophobic, but he didn't like to test that theory any longer than he had to).

The British authorities had gotten an anonymous tip that the person they were looking for had just entered Gringotts bank in Diagon Alley and so a few of them had been sent out to stake out the place and wait for the suspect to come outside. He had been seen entering the bank with an unknown woman, whether they were working together willingly or not would yet to be determined and it would have to wait until the both of them were apprehended and taken back to the Ministry. Hilderson and Faulkner, the two American aurors that had been chasing them the whole time wanted to come to but it was determined that they were now too easily recognizable and may spook the suspects, allowing them to get away before they could be arrested and that just would not do. They currently only had one person on the inside playing look out as they feared that having a bunch of aurors inside the goblin-run bank would make all of the other innocent people in there who were just going about their business feel more than uncomfortable. No, it was better to wait outside and be there when they came out.

Whenever something bad is suspected to happen, a special security force of wizards is called upon to protect the bank. Warnings are sent out to the goblins that someone might be trying to break into the bank which is exactly what happened here and wizards with probity probes replace the goblins at the front doors. Probity probes are designed to detect any sort of concealed enchantment or object and the two wizards that were now standing out in front were using them to try and search everyone leaving and entering the bank. They would have the criminals caught in no time for sure.

Meanwhile, back in the inside of the bank…..

"Thank you for helping us…." Serpentina trailed off as they did not know the name of the goblin that had helped bring them to the right vault.

"Griphook. My name is Griphook." The cart slowed to a stop and the three of them exited. They headed through the entrance to the main lobby and suddenly Griphook came to a stop.

"The Ministry of Magic knows that you are here and it seems as though they have people stationed at the door to stop you."

"How are we going to make it past them?" Serpentina asked nervously.

"I don't think that's going to be possible. They use those probity probes to detect dark objects and enchantments that people might use to slip past them."

If any of the other two were fluent in French they would have understood the string of curse words that came out of Drakes mouth as he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before covering his mouth with his hand just a bit after they had ducked back into the shadows where they would not be visible. He knew that they somehow had to get out of that bank without being seen or detected by ANYONE.

"I've got it," Drake said finally after what felt like several minutes, but was really maybe only one. "We can use the Dissillusionment Charm on ourselves and we'll zap them both with the Confundus Charm on whoever is at the door so that they will not be able to detect us as we slip by." He took out his wand as he said this and Serpentina followed his actions and they both simultaneously cast the charm on themselves but not before Drake said a quiet thank you to Griphook who merely grunted and warned them not to mention it, ever.

"Hasn't anyone seen any sign of them yet?" Kingsley Shacklebolt and John Dawlish were two of the aurors that had been discreetly placed outside in front of Gringotts bank and they had been waiting for any sign of the two individuals that they were apparently supposed to be looking for, for the better part of the last hour and neither one of them had yet to make an appearance. Shacklebolt, who had received a previous message from Dumbledore, was leaning up against the wall of the building that was directly opposite the bank pretending to browse through the latest edition of the Daily Prophet. John Dawlish, who had just arrived eyed Shacklebolt a bit funny, was taking in how casually he was leaning up against the wall. He had just come back with their lunch and handed Shacklebolt his food.

"So, here we are supposed to be after a supposedly highly dangerous person and you're standing here as if there is absolutely nothing wrong."

"It's called acting, Dawlish. If I stood here wand out as if I was ready for battle then I would think that the people walking around here might find that a bit suspicious, don't you think?" Dawlish couldn't find anything to say in response to that.

James was also standing close by although he was well hidden. He was also waiting for the two individuals to come out and mentally cursed when after an insufferable amount of time the two of them had not managed to emerge. Not to mention the looks on the faces of the two wizards that were currently standing by the door of the bank had looks on their faces that suggested that they had just been the victims of a very strong Confundus charm. The aurors seemed to have come to the same conclusion although it had taken them much longer than James, well most of them at any rate. That one auror, the one that had been pretending to read the paper earlier didn't seem too phased which irked James a bit, but he brushed it off for now. He needed to contact the Mistress and let her know what had happened.


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is based off of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code but is set in the Harry Potter universe. Everything except for the original characters featured in this story belong to J.K Rowling and Dan Brown. **

Later when the aurors tried to come and question everyone in the bank they were frustrated to find that they could not get a straight answer. The goblins behind the counter were, suffice it to say, less than cooperative, and the patrons inside the bank were more interested in their own affairs than they were those of two unimportant individuals. As for Griphook, he had played his part well when questioned, and no one seemed to notice the fairly nice sized sack of galleons that he had in his pocket as he headed off to somewhere else in the bank, most likely to take someone else down to their vault.

Meanwhile….

Drake and Serpentina had managed to "reappear" somewhere in the midst of Knockturn Alley. Drake did not like the look of the area one bit but Serpentina said that it was the place that the authorities were least likely to look and that therefore it would be the safest place to be.

"Besides, if there is anyone to be found that might know something more about ol' serpent tongue than it's probably going to be here." Still, Drake's tight hold on his wand and the case where that now held not only the copies but the original Serpentine Documents did not cease as he scanned the area for trouble. Knockturn Alley was a REALLY shabby place and did not quite have the merrier atmosphere that Diagon Alley had. All of the shops that lined the streets were most certainly dedicated to the dark arts, and Drake was pretty sure that he had just seen a hag on the other side of the street (he wasn't sure as he was afraid to look too hard).

"Come on, I think I might know someone down here who might be able to help us."

"Help, in this place?" Drake's tone of voice let it be known that he didn't exactly believe her.

"Just do as I say, alright?"

Neither one of them noticed the cloaked figure that seemed to be following them from close behind.

James looked around the area in disgust. He had a feeling that his clothes would need more than just one thorough cleaning after leaving this place. Everything here was just so….so filthy. It took him awhile to gather his bearings and to remember what exactly it was he had come down here for and why. He watched from a great amount of distance as the two individuals he had been pursuing this entire time quickly ducked into one of the shops in one of the darkest corners of the alley.

Lucius Malfoy sat in his study as he read the letter that had recently been sent home from his son. He had told his son that it would be best to keep his head down and let the heir of Slytherin do his thing and that if Draco was found to know too much about it, it would look suspicious. He did, however, tell his son to keep him informed about what was going on. Some mudblood boy from Hufflepuff had just been found petrified alongside the Gryffindor house ghost, proving that his power was far beyond what anyone could imagine. Also, once again the Potter brat was found at the scene and everyone seems to think that it was him (although Malfoy knew that was not true) which really worked in his favor if he was honest with himself.

_That's right; the Boy-Who-Lived could make the perfect scapegoat. No one may ever suspect who it REALLY is except…._

Lucius knew that the only fly in the ointment would be Dumbledore. There had to be a way to get him out of the way without raising any sort of suspicion. The wheels in the elder Malfoy's head began to turn and formulate a plan to get rid of the headmaster. Maybe, just maybe he could find a way to kill two birds with one stone. An evil smirk began to slowly form on his face as he leaned back in his chair and he didn't seem to notice who might have been possibly eavesdropping on the other side.

To say that the authorities were angry at themselves for not being able to catch the suspects was nothing. Faulkner was madder than he had ever been and Hilderson was afraid that if the other man went any redder he would suffocate before it was over with.

"How in the….how is it that…" the question couldn't seem to make its way out of Hilderson's mouth. Shacklebolt, however, did seem to understand what the American auror was trying to ask and provided the answer to his question.

"Confundus charm. Our forces might be strong but they are definitely not infallible. It looks as if the two managed to somehow make their selves invisible, confound the two security wizards that we had posted at the door and snuck past them in order to make their escape. Where they are now is anyone's guess." The aurors had made their way back to the ministry and Shacklebolt watched in somewhat of a fascinated way as the American auror paced back in forth in front of his desk. He noticed that the American seemed to prefer to dress more in the muggle style and he found their slang to be almost amusing although at times it deem seem to be a bit hard to understand.

_Of course, it did take them more than a minute to understand that where they would call it an elevator, we call it a lift_, he thought to himself. He had also figured out that it was a bad idea to never ask an American wizard about sports. The American magical community did not follow Quidditch the way it seemed the rest of the magical world did (although there were at least one or two American Quidditch teams but no one seemed to pay them any attention). No, the Americans were more into a magical game known as Quodpot, a game that was almost exclusively played in the U.S. Hilderson had tried to explain to Shacklebolt that there were 11 players on each side and it was the goal of each team to get the ball (known as the Quod) into the goal basket on the other side before the ball exploded. Apparently the baskets contained a solution that kept the Quod from exploding and each time a team made a basket a new one was brought into play.

_I don't think I will even understand Americans_, he thought.

Drake stared at the name right up above the shop with a bit of apprehension, the name Abigail's adorned the sign in peeling letters as it barely remained hung right up above the shop's doors. The windows were extremely dirty and some of the objects that Drake COULD see on display in the windows were less than appealing. He felt around for where his wand was hidden and decided it would probably be a good idea to keep his hand on it the entire time they were in there.

"Nice place," he said the sarcasm evident in his tone of voice. Serpentina rolled her eyes and gave him a look that told him to shut up before reaching for the door and turning the handle. As she did, Drake could hear the tinkling sound of a bell although there was none hanging up above the door. He swallowed largely as he followed her inside.


	12. Chapter 12

[DISCLAIMER: This fanfiction is based off of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code but is set in the Harry Potter universe. Everything except for the original characters featured in this story belong to J.K Rowling and Dan Brown.]

Inside the shop was really fairly dimly lit although Drake had no way of knowing where exactly the source of the light was coming from and he found himself keeping a hand on his wand in his pocket, ready to pull it out should he need to do so.

"And the reason why we are here again is…?" He asked, looking around at all of the strange and unusual objects that were there around the shelves. He did have to admit that he admired the bookshelves as he passed them and found himself stopping to look at some of the titles of the books that were sitting on them. He was surprised to find that several of the books that were now in front of him were first editions, most of them several hundreds of years old causing him to only be able to guess at what their value might be.

"The person that owns this little establishment happens to be a very good friend of mine. She's very well versed in this sort of thing and I feel like she might be able help us in our deciphering of the code that seems to be written in these documents." Serpentina was talking but when Drake turned around he saw that she was not even looking at him. In fact she was looking at a door that happened to be behind the shop's counter with a sort of pensive look on her face. "She also happens to be a bit of a character so fair warning Professor." Serpentina reached up and knocked on the door three times in rapid succession and stood back, waiting a moment. Drake came to stand beside her as she went up to the door and knocked again before stepping back a second time. Drake could hear the shuffling noises that were coming from the other side and watched as the door creaked open on its own but when he peaked in there seemed to be no one on the other side. Drake noticed Serpentina open and close her hands several times and fidget more than just a little before, presumably from nervousness before seemingly being able to take control of herself and speak out loud.

"Abigail. Abigail it's me Serpentina, are you here?"

The two of them waited a moment before Drake suddenly began to hear a sound that he never would have expected to be hearing on the inside of a building. He could hear the sound of heavy footsteps coming from somewhere but it was the WAY footsteps sounded that astounded him. They sounded like….

_Horses hooves?_

As Drake listened her could definitely hear the distinct clip-clop sound of something that had hooves and was about to turn and face whatever on earth it was with his wand out at the ready but Serpentina stopped him, causing him to give her a quizzical look to which she merely shrugged in response. In the shadows in the corner of the room stood the silhouette of something that LOOKED like a person but when his eyes reached the bottom half it seemed as though something was a bit off. Suddenly, there was a voice.

"Of course I'm here darling, where else would I be?" The female voice had a bit of a musical lilt to it. The figure that had once been shrouded in shadow now began to step out into the light and Drake was very shocked to see what he was seeing at that moment for right there in front of him was none other than a female fawn. Serpentina however did not seem to be surprised and went over to hug the creature that was apparently a good friend of hers. The female fawn was wearing a t-shirt that looked like it had come from some sort of muggle department store but her goat-like legs were clearly visible and so were those hooves. Suddenly, Abigail's eyes turned to Drake.

"Ahh, Serpentina I was assuming that you were busy because you had not come to visit me in a long time but you never told me that you were taking up a more….academic past-time." Abigail made her way over to Drake, the sound of her hooves loud on the wooden floor beneath their feet. By all other means, Abigail was a very attractive creature Drake had to forcibly admit to himself, but those goat legs….

"Professor Doe! Never did I think that I would have YOU of all people standing here in my shabby little establishment. What exactly is it that brings you here and with my dear friend here of all people? Although before you answer first let me say that I have been following your work and I have to say to you that I am a big fan of it. Very impressive!"

Drake smiled and did his best to brush off the heat that was threatening to rise in his cheeks. He didn't care how many times people said those things, he still remained very humbled and appreciated by it. Serpentina nudged him and gave him a sharp, pointed look. Drake cleared his throat and placed his case on the table.

"I have been….working on a project of sorts for the past couple of months but unfortunately I keep running into more than a few dead ends. Serpentina came highly recommended and she has been doing an excellent job of helping me. She told me that you were a dear friend of hers and that you might be able to give us just a little bit more insight into what we are dealing with here." He opened the case and took out the documents. On the way there Serpentina had explained to him that Abigail was fascinated by the documents and had spent quite some time trying to figure out where they were and what they might say.

"You could say that it's Abigail's area of expertise. There's a lot of conspiracy theory surrounding these documents in particular and she might be able to help us find a way to translate them once she actually sees them." But there was one catch though. Serpentina went on to explain that fake copies of the documents had been popping up in different places for years, sending those that were in search of the truth on wild goose chases. "The only way that we are going to be able to persuade her to help us is if we allow her to see the originals." This of course was the main reason why they had made that perilous trip to the bank, but that still didn't make Drake feel any less easy about it. His fingers trembled as he finished opening up the case, Abigail leaning forward in interest. Drake took out the documents which had been preserved by special enchantments and placed them on the table in front of her.

"Feel free to do everything you wish to authenticate these."

Abigail stumbled back a few feet and tripped over a rug, but before she could hit the ground Serpentina pulled her wand and cast a cushioning charm which gave her a soft landing. She and Drake both then went and helped the fawn to her feet and led her back over to the table where the documents now lay.

"You brought…..you have…."

"Absolutely. I promise you that these are real and we have brought them here because we had a feeling that you would be able to help us translate what it is that they are saying." Abigail hurriedly got up and came back to the table. She gathered up the documents in her hands (Drake was glad for the enchantments but he still cringed when she did that) and went over to a corner of the room where yet another door appeared suddenly on the wall in front of her. She opened it and gestured for them follow her.

"I want you both to come in here with me. I think I might have a few things in here that could help," her voice was breathless with excitement. Drake and Serpentina just looked at each other and shrugged before heading through the door after her, listening to it magically shut behind them after they had both fully entered the room.

**[Author's Note: For those that are reading this and figured it out: You are correct! Abigail's character was inspired by the character of Sir Leigh Teabing, the obsessed Grail historian whom Robert Langdon and Sophie seek out in ****The Da Vinci Code****. For those that might not know: Read ****The Da Vinci Code**** and you will see!]**


	13. Chapter 13

The Aurors from the Ministry along with "the two Americans" as they had secretly deemed them, had managed to receive an anonymous tip as to where the two fugitives location was. As far as the Minister of Magic was concerned, the two American aurors, Faulkner and Hilderson, were only being allowed to tag-a-long and they would be lucky if by the time this whole thing was over they were allowed to get Professor Doe on a stolen property charge. The Ministry of Magic, of course, had other more….deeply concerned interests in this case as it were. Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt had been part of the team assigned to this particular case since the beginning and had secretly been in close contact with Dumbledore the entire time, letting him know everything that was happening. Of course Dumbledore also had a lot more on his plate at the moment considering what was going on at Hogwarts.

_A ghost this time…. _

James had been prowling up and down Knockturn Alley for a very long time by this point but he knew that he must be patient. He had seen the two individuals; Doe and the girl that was traveling with him go inside the shop but he knew that he must wait for them to come back out before he made his move. He could be patient.

Drake was sitting there at the table beside Serpentina and across from Abigail who was sitting there looking at the two of them with her fingers in a steeple. She had managed to cook them all up a small, but still very filling meal which Drake in particular was very glad for as he had not eaten a decent meal in quite some time and judging by the look on Serpentina's face, she hadn't had one in a while either. When they were all done eating Abigail waved her hand and all of the dishes disappeared somewhere, presumably to some sort of kitchen where they could be cleaned somehow later.

"There have always been four: the High Master and the three Guardians that make up the highest ranking members of the Brotherhood of the Blood. The brotherhood's members span pretty much across the globe, with some of them having jumped across the pond when it came time to settle in the New World now known as the United States and maybe a few other countries as well we can't really be too sure."

"But the Ministry of Magic exposed that as a hoax just 50 years ago," Serpentina said with a bit of exasperation in her voice.

"That is what the Ministry wants you to believe," Abigail replied. "The Brotherhood is charged with a single task: to protect one of the greatest secrets of wizarding history.

"Salazar Slytherin's reputation," Drake said. Abigail chuckled which caused Drake to look at her with more than just a bit of confusion.

Smiling at Drake with a smile that almost made him want to get up from the table and run she said, "has my dear Serpentina been telling you that this is just about Slytherin?"

"There are several pieces of evidence regarding the Serpentine Documents," Abigail said as she went around the room, using magic to summon different books from different shelves. The room that they were in now was much larger than the front part of the store that they had previously been in. She brought them to a the table and laid them out, the documents stacked neatly beside them.

"We were hoping that you would be able to enlighten us with everything that you know about the documents and about the brotherhood," Drake said.

"And about Slytherin himself," Serpentina finished. Drake nodded in agreement. He watched as Abigail summoned particularly large book to her and laid it out on the table, using magic to rapidly flip through the pages.

"Most people when they come looking for information from me they tend to ask me about Slytherin's rivalry with the other founders, Gryffindor in particular. Unfortunately I think I might not ever be able to answer that question. HOWEVER, I do believe that the more relevant question is what kind of person Slytherin was." Abigail came around to the front of the table and leaned against it with her arms crossed. "Professor, you are obviously not someone who went to Hogwarts as your French accent gives you away immediately. Tell me, how much do YOU know about the founders of Hogwarts?"

Drake didn't like being put on the spot like that. His particular study was ancient runes, the study of ancient runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, runestones and their history as well as how they were used for magical purposes. He tried to quickly outline what he knew: that Hogwarts was founded over 1,000 years ago by the four individuals to which the houses were named after (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin) that Slytherin wanted to be a bit more…..selective of the students that went there saying that the magical learning should only be kept within all magic families. That he and Gryffindor had a big fight before Slytherin departed the school and the whole legend of the Chamber of Secrets.

"Ah, but the Chamber of Secrets is real!" Abigail exclaimed.

"Abigail you and I both know that there is no solid evidence to support that. It's myth!" Serpentina crossed her arms and Drake noticed the slight rolling of her eyes while Abigail narrowed hers. "How exactly can it be a myth when you yourself know for a fact that there is clear historical evidence of it?"

"There's no evidence suggesting that it exists in any of the books that I have looked at," Drake said but Abigail appeared not to be listening. She was going through her books as fast as she could, eventually using her wand to try and find the pages that she was apparently looking for.

"It stands to reason that the four founders of Hogwarts would want to put their own personal stamp on the school. They each constructed the locations of their own houses and everything within them," Finally Abigail seemed to find at least part of what she was looking for, a comprehensive map of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry which showed the exact locations of all of the dormitories as well as the common rooms, kitchens, classrooms and the like. "Only historical accounts suggest that Slytherin might have went a bit further, creating a secret headquarters for himself and Merlin only knows who or what. The fact that the rumors of it have persisted this long suggest that Slytherin must have at some point spoke of its creation or permitted others besides himself to enter?" At that point in time another book stopped on a page and Abigail went over to it and picked it up. "And this is from the writings of one Corvinus Gaunt, direct descendant of Slytherin who was present at the time when certain upgrades were being made within the school, one of the few times the magical world has followed in the footsteps of the muggle one.

"He MIGHT have written something about the Chamber," Serpentina had interrupted Abigail just as she was about to read from the text.

"Serpentina, dear will you fight fair?"

"I said he MIGHT have."

Abigail cleared her throat and began reading, "The entrance to the chamber was accessible only through a secret trapdoor which then became threatened when renovations to the castle were made that would soon leave it covered up. The simple trapdoor was then secretly protected so that those that knew how could still be able to access it." Abigail snapped the book shut. "Now that's a bit strange isn't it? That someone from the Gaunt family could know about the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets and it's possible whereabouts but yet all of the supposed learned wizards and witches in the Ministry of Magic could not. Now, history tells us that when Slytherin left the school he sealed the Chamber until when an heir directly descended from him could step fourth and unleash the horror within: a monster that only the heir of Slytherin can control. Now, Serpentina you can be of some help to us here. Would you care to enlighten us on a little bit of Gaunt family history?"


End file.
